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West Essex Football for Week Ending November 25, 2001 |
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Knights feast on Red Hawks 45-0; Prep for sectional final against Orange |
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| Ricky Teehan, Tim Hughes and Sal LoCasio were the lead members of the cast as the West Essex gridiron squad auditioned for the 2001 Iron Hills Conference title race. Not only was the weather perfect for opening day of the 2001 scholastic gridiron season, so were the final results at Travis Field in North Caldwell as West Essex rolled to a 23-6 victory over Garfield. It was a non-conference encounter for both teams as the Knights got revenge for an opening day 20-0 loss suffered at the hands of the Boilermakers a year ago. | |||||
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West Essex Football for Week Ending November 18, 2001 |
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D'Urso ignites Knights to sectional final |
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By Kevin Wilson |
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| It was a matchup of the No. 1 seed versus the eighth-seeded squad. On paper, that usually translates to an easy victory for the higher seeded team but coming into last Saturday's opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group II playoffs, there was major concern for top-seeded West Essex. | |||||||
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| Following intermission, D'Urso upped the lead to 19-0 when he blasted 12
yards into the end zone before Johnson got on the board with its only points of the game. D'Urso, who toted the ball 17 times for 149 yards, picked up 68 yards on his final touchdown run of the game in the fourth quarter. Hughes completed the scoring when he split the uprights with a 27-yard field goal. "Anthony has the ability to find the seams and the speed to reach the end zone," said head coach David Drozjock. "He reads his blockers well and can shoot for daylight as well as any back I have ever coached." Defensively, the Knights came up with four interceptions, two of which were picked off by senior Mike Mineo while Michaal Hayek and Erich Sisco each grabbed an interception. Outstanding play up front in the trenches by the Knights caused the breakdown in the Johnson passing attack and set up the interceptions. "We love to be physical," commented Drozjock. "Any time we create a turnover, we seem to turn it up a notch so those interceptions were all big plays." Junior linebacker Sal LoCascio turned in an outstanding effort as he recorded a game-high dozen tackles, including three for losses. "Sal had a great game," stated Drozjock. "He has a nose for the ball and has been making great hits all season." Senior Joe Cifelli, who opened up wide holes for D'Urso from his offensive guard slot, was runnerup with nine tackles, three of which were for losses while he was credited with four quarterback pressures. Hayek had eight tackles, Sisco came up with seven hits and Mineo stopped six runners. West Essex will clinch a share of the IHC - Hills title for the first time since 1995 with a victory over Parsippany on Friday evening. The Red Hawks are 1-8 after losing an NJSIAA consolation round game to Kinnelon, a Group I school. The Knights can name the score against a weak Parsippany squad but must remain free of injuries for the following week's battle against Orange. The Tornadoes, like their nickname implies, are a big play team with a lot of speed, but more about that next week after the Knights raise the championship banner on Friday evening in Morris County. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending November 11, 2001 |
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Pumped up Knights topple Hilltoppers |
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By Kevin Wilson |
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| Sophomore Anthony D'Urso crossed the goal line four times as West Essex toppled Arthur L. Johnson High School of Clark from the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group II championships on Saturday afternoon at Travis Field in North Caldwell. The Knights defeated the Crusaders of the Mountain Valley Conference by a score of 29-8 to up their overall record to 9-1. | ||||||||||||
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| The Crusaders from the Mountain Valley Conference upped their overall record
to 8-1 in defeating Hanover Park 19-7. This was the first time the Crusaders had won a playoff game since 1995
when they defeated Summit for their only sectional title. Mike Vicci exploded out of the blocks, breaking loose on a 64-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage and the Crusaders never trailed. Quarterback Matt Poskay, who handles the place-kicking assignments, split the pipes with field goals of 24 and 22 yards to bridge the second and third quarters and completed the scoring by tossing a 14-yard TD strike to a diving Jonathon Melli in the fourth quarter. This will be a challenge for Drozjock's Knights but Wessex has the versatility and depth to pull out a victory and move into the championship round for the first time since 1980. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending November 4, 2001 |
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Pumped up Knights topple Hilltoppers |
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By Kevin Wilson |
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| Sophomore Anthony D'Urso crossed the goal line four times as West Essex toppled Arthur L. Johnson High School of Clark from the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group II championships on Saturday afternoon at Travis Field in North Caldwell. The Knights defeated the Crusaders of the Mountain Valley Conference by a score of 29-8 to up their overall record to 9-1. | ||||||||||||
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| The Crusaders from the Mountain Valley Conference upped their overall record
to 8-1 in defeating Hanover Park 19-7. This was the first time the Crusaders had won a playoff game since 1995
when they defeated Summit for their only sectional title. Mike Vicci exploded out of the blocks, breaking loose on a 64-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage and the Crusaders never trailed. Quarterback Matt Poskay, who handles the place-kicking assignments, split the pipes with field goals of 24 and 22 yards to bridge the second and third quarters and completed the scoring by tossing a 14-yard TD strike to a diving Jonathon Melli in the fourth quarter. This will be a challenge for Drozjock's Knights but Wessex has the versatility and depth to pull out a victory and move into the championship round for the first time since 1980. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending October 28, 2001 |
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Knight to entertain Marauders |
| Following a bye week, West Essex will look to lock up the top-seed in the
NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group II football playoffs on Saturday when the Knights entertain Mount Olive.
The kickoff is set for 2:00 PM. Mount Olive, a Group III school that will move into the Iron Division next year, will be playing the Knights for the last time. The Marauders are currently 2-5 so a win for Wessex will be worth eight additional power points, assuring head coach Dave Drozjock's team of the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. In addition, the championship banner of the Iron Hills Conference - Hills Division is there for the Knights taking, or at least a share, as long as they win their last two regular-season games. Mendham plays at Dover on Friday evening and the winner will remain tied with the Knights. While the Knights were idle last weekend, Mount Olive dropped a hard-fought 7-0 decision to Summit a week after Wessex had to rally in the fourth quarter to pull out a win over the Hilltoppers, |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending October 21, 2001 |
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Cordasco goes to air to rescue Knights |
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| With senior Jordan Brody coming up with a pair of quarterback sacks before
junior Sal Locasio picked off a Hilltopper aerial to halt Summit's final shot at a victory, West Essex locked up
a berth in the state playoffs and can claim the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs by
defeating Mount Olive in two weeks. "Jordan came up big when it counted, making those two quarterback sacks," continued Drozjock. "Sal continued his hard hitting but noting was bigger than the pick he made to finish off Summit." Sophomore Anthony D'Urso opened the scoring for the Knights when he bolted 46-yards into the end zone in the first quarter and Tim Hughes booted the extra point. D'Urso found a seam and broke loose for a 64-yard TD run early in the second quarter as the Knights scored on two of their first three possession. D'Urso finished the game rushing for 184 yards on 19 attempts. "Anthony turned in another great effort," added Drozjock. "He got us off to a good start." Junior Mike Hayek was the leading tackler, coming up with 13 hits while Locasio finished with a dozen tackles. Joe Cifelli recorded eight tackles, had a quarterback sack while Brody finished with 10 tackles, including the two big QB sacks in the final minute of play. "Our defense continues to play," stated Drozjock. "We got good penetration and caused havoc in the Summit backfield most of the game." With the bye week, West Essex has an opportunity to heal bumps and bruises while getting ready for the Marauders. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending October 14, 2001 |
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Wessex takes possession of Cardone Cup for first time since 1996 |
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By Kevin Wilson |
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| Dover hosts Mendham on the first weekend of November and the Hornets and
Tigers play each other on November 16 so the ball is in the Knights court. If they win their remaining divisional
games, they can do no worse than share the title, a feat they have not achieved since the 1995 season. Nose-guard Jason Brady came up with the big play when he made a tackle on the Hornets' Mike Barasso in the backfield, one of three he recorded in the contest along with a game-high total of 12 hits, to thwart the Hornets stab at victory by trying for a two-point conversion following their second TD of the fourth quarter. "Jason has been playing great ball for us," stated head coach Dave Drozjok. "He has been getting past his blockers and causing havoc in our opponents' backfields." Sophomore Anthony D'Urso toted the pigskin 13 times, grinding out a game-high 144 yards including the opening TD of the game when he broke loose and raced 73 yards into the end zone. Junior Tim Hughes split the uprights from 39-yards out in the second quarter to boost the Knights into a 9-0 lead as he nailed his fourth field goal of the season. "Tim had missed the first extra point but he has been so consistent, we did not hesitate to let him kick in the second quarter," added Drozjock. "He has been great with all four field goals coming from good distances." His classmate, fullback Mike Hayek who carried 11 times for 55 yards, raced one yard around right end to up the Knights advantage to 15-0 in the third quarter as a two-point conversion pass failed. Senior quarterback Tom Cordasco kept the Hornets' "D" unit honest, connecting on 6 of 9 aerial attempts for 89 yards. D.J. Cunningham got the Hornets on the board when he scooped up a Knights fumble and dashed 20 yards into the end zone. Hanover Park cut the deficit to 15-8 when quarterback James Picariello tossed a two-point conversion pass to Barasso. With 1 minutes, 30 seconds left, Hanover Park pulled within one when Picariello tossed a six-yard TD strike to Cunningham and set the stage for Brody to come up the with hit of the game. West Essex travels to Summit to clash with the Hilltoppers on Saturday afternoon. Summit sports a 3-2 mark after routing Parsippany 42-14. The Hilltoppers' offense revolves around senior quarterback, a four-year starter, who completed 7 of 15 aerial attempts against the Red Hawks for 123 yards including TD tosses of nine-yards to J.P. Coviello and 52-yards to Evan Chang. Summit is similar to Morris Hills and therein lies the trap that the Knights must avoid on Saturday in Union County. The Hilltoppers are an average football team and should not pose a problem to the Knights if Drozjock's charges come to play. West Essex controls its own destiny and running the board from here on in the regulation season will reward the Knights with no less than a share of the IHC - Hills title as well as the home field advantage in the state playoffs. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending October 7, 2001 |
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Knights dreams of unbeaten season popped, look to rebound in Cosmo Cup |
| West Essex had its dreams of producing the Knights' first-ever undefeated
season come to a screeching halt in overtime when Scott McCauley split the uprights with a 29-yard field goal to
give Morris Hills a 16-13 victory in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Rockaway. West Essex, which was off to a 4-0 start prior to the game, has never finished a season unbeaten. The Knights greatest team, the 1980 squad that was named the No. 1 team in New Jersey following a state championship win over Belleville in Giants Stadium, stumbled once during the season, dropping a 35-34 decision to Morris Knolls. Trailing 7-0, Mike Hayak bolted three yards into the end zone and Tim Hughes split the uprights with his extra point placement as the teams were deadlocked 7-7 when the exited the field for the halftime break. "Mike had a great game for us," commented head coach Dave Drozjock who now has the two longest winning streaks at the beginning of the season with his 1999 squad opening with a record six straight wins. "Mike gained 127 yards rushing on 24 carries for us." Following a scoreless third quarter, Wessex moved in front 13-6 when Ricky Teehan raced 11 yards into the end zone but the PAT failed. Morris Hills came back to tie the score when Alan Kotteles hauled in his second TD pass of the game from quarterback Dan McDonald with the play covering 20 yards but the extra point kick was blocked as the regulation part of the contest ended with teams deadlocked at 13-13. The rest is history as the Scarlet Knights jumped for joy when McCauley's FG attempt sailed between the uprights and they had won their second game of the season against a pair of losses. On Saturday, the Knights will host Hanover Park in the annual Cosmo Cardone Cup encounter. The Hornets sport a 3-1 record but are undefeated and stand alone at the top of the IHC - Hills Division standings with a 3-0 mark. They lost their opening game to Colonia but have bounced back to defeat Mount Olive, Weequahic and Parsippany, routing the Red Hawks under the lights in East Hanover on Friday night by a score of 34-6. Since the Hornets' three Hills Division victims are second-division teams, Hanover Park must still demonstrate it can handle the top echelon of the Hills Division teams so this week's contest with the Knights will go a long way in producing a major contender for the divisional title. West Essex already holds wins over Dover and Mendham as the Knights are the only team to date who has beaten the Tigers and Minutemen. Look for Drozjock to have the Knights' stomping at the bit and ready to make amends for last week's loss to the Scarlet Knights. Playing for the Cosmo Cup, top-seeding in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group II playoffs and at least a share of the Iron Hills Conference - Hills Division crown, makes Saturday's event the Game of the Year at Travis Field in North Caldwell. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending September 30, 2001 |
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Hughes puts foot to the ball |
| From the first drill at the opening scrimmage against Watchung Hills, it
was evident that the foot was back in the game of football at West Essex. On Saturday, junior Tim Hughes booted
a 22-yard field goal with five minutes left in the fourth quarter to spur the Knights to their fourth straight
victory, a 17-14 win over previously unbeaten Mendham. "I toed the ball on my first try," said Hughes who kicked 37 and 39-yard field goals in earlier games. "I just wanted to keep my composure and forget about the first field goal attempt that I tried." Senior quarterback Tom Cordasco had opened the scoring when he tucked in the pigskin and raced 23-yards into the end zone on the opening quarter. Hughes booted the PAT attempt through the uprights and Wessex led 7-0. Mendham bridged the second and third quarters with two TDs to move in front 14-01 before sophomore Anthony D'Urso broke loose and raced 64-yards to paydirt later in the third quarter. Hughes converted his extra point placement and the score was knotted at 14-14 to set the stage for his game-winning field goal. "Tim has made some big kicks for us this year and we did not hesitate to get him back out there to kick again," stated head coach Dave Drozjock. "No one panicked when we trailed by seven points. We believe we are a second half club and can win deep into the games." Mendham did not quite but launched a counter-attack. With less than a minute remaining, the Minutemen drove deep into Knights' territory before senior safety Nick Angelo came up with a pick of a Steve Wenderfer pass on the three-yard line. "We beat Dover last Saturday night but most of the writers were picking Mendham to win," said Angelo. "We believe we have the best defense in the league and we want to go to the state playoffs. This was the biggest game of my career." On Saturday, West Essex travels to Rockaway for the annual Battle of the Knights against Morris Hills. The Scarlet lost a 7-6 decision to Summit on Saturday but traditionally have battled Wessex on even terms over the years. West Essex as Angelo stated, has a great defense and can put the Hills away for its fifth straight victory. What Wessex cannot do, is to look past the Scarlet Knights and think about the following week when they battle Hanover Park for the Cosmo Cardone Cup. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending September 23, 2001 |
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Knights early outburst cages Tigers |
| West Essex exploded for 22 unanswered points in the second quarter as the
Knights jumped out to a 24-0 lead by halftime in beating Dover 27-8 under the lights in Dover on Saturday evening.
Mike Kerr put two points on the board for the Knights' special teams in the opening quarter when he blocked John
Phil's punt and the ball bounced out of the end zone for a safety. West Essex blocked another punt in the second quarter and fullback Mike Hayek made it 8-0 one play later when he plunged one yard into end zone. Tim Hughes split the pipes with the first of his two successful extra point placements and Wessex led 9-0. A Dover fumble led to the next Knights' touchdown when Tom Cordasco tossed a 32-yard TD strike to Erich Sisco and Anthony Durso raced three yards into the end zone for a two-point conversion to make the score 17-0. With 20 ticks left on the first half clock, the Tigers fumbled a punt attempt on their own eight. Following a penalty that nullified a score, Cordasco lobbed a 25-yard TD aerial that Greg Vaccaro hauled in as he dove across the goal line. West Essex completed its scoring in the fourth quarter when Hughes booted a 37-yard field goal. The Knights upped their record to 3-0 and will entertain Mendham on Saturday in an early-season showdown for first place in the IHC - Hills Division standings. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending September 16, 2001 |
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Knight scalp Weequahic Indians |
| Sophomore Anthony Durso crossed the goal line three times in the first half
to ignite West Essex to a 39-6 victory over Weequahic on Monday afternoon at Travis Field in North Caldwell. It
was the second straight "W" of the season for the Knights under head coach Dave Drozjock. Because of the postponement of the game until Monday, this week's contest with Dover has been moved to Saturday evening in Dover with the kickoff set for 7:00 PM. Durso opened the scoring in the first quarter with TD runs of 9 and 1 yards while Tim Hughes split the pipes with both extra point placements to give the Knights a quick 14-0 advantage. Durso added a 20-yard TD run to start the second quarter scoring as he finished the game with 50 yards rushing in a role limited to five carries by the Knights domination. "Anthony put his mark on the game quickly," said Drozjock. "We dominated the game from the outset so he was limited in his opportunities to run the ball." Ricky Teehan blasted one yard into the end zone as he rushed seven times for 32 yards. Michael Hayek busted four yards over the goal as the Knights increased their advantage to 33-0 by the halftime break. Hayek picked up 62 yards rushing in the game on six carries and excelled on defense, coming up with five tackles from his linebacking slot and picking off an interception that he returned to the one-yard line in the third quarter. "Michael was impressive on both sides of the line of scrimmage," continued Drozjock. "Jerry (Cardinale), our free safety also picked off a Weequahic pass with perfect timing as he highpointed the ball." Following the intermission, senior Nick Moussab, who carried 6 times for 26 yards, blasted four yards to paydirt to complete the Knights scoring parade. Weequahic averted a shutout in the fourth quarter when Indians' quarterback Antoine Johnson tossed 55-yard TD strike to Tajiddin Smith. "Our linebackers were the backbone of our defense. Sal (LoCasio) won his second straight Hammer Award and finished with a team-high six tackles while Eric (Sisco) and Michael (Hayek) had five apiece." There was no junior varsity game played because of the change in the varsity date and Weequahic did not have a freshmen team. West Essex travels to Morris County to clash with Dover on Saturday evening with the kickoff scheduled for 7:00 PM. The Tigers are marking their 100th season of football following a 9-3 mark last season that ended in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group II championship game. Dover opened its 2001 campaign with a 10-7 win over Summit on Friday evening in Dover after trailing 7-0 at halftime. Dover's key success was its defensive unit that registered three quarterback sacks and came up with three turnovers. Senior John Phil got the Tigers on the board following intermission when he split the uprights with a 25-yard field goal. The defense set the stage for the game-winning drive when Yusuf Glover recovered a Hilltopper fumble on the Dover 46. Kahlil Harris broke loose on first down, scampering 52-yards to the Summit two-yard line and scored in the next play. "Dover started slowly but looked very strong in the second half," added Drozjock who had an opportunity to scout the Tigers. "This has always been a big game for both teams since I have been at West Essex and this year will be no different." This is an early season game that is key to both squads hopes of challenging for the Iron Hills - Hills Division championship. West Essex has a defensive unit that can keep the Tigers at bay while the Knights skill-players look to break open big plays with no turnovers. If the Knights can maintain ball control and not cough up the pigskin like the Hilltoppers, there will be joy in West Essex on Friday evening. |
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West Essex Football for Week Ending September 9, 2001 |
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Teehan, Hughes, LoCasio extinguish Boilermakers |
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| Ricky Teehan, Tim Hughes and Sal LoCasio were the lead members of the cast as the West Essex gridiron squad auditioned for the 2001 Iron Hills Conference title race. Not only was the weather perfect for opening day of the 2001 scholastic gridiron season, so were the final results at Travis Field in North Caldwell as West Essex rolled to a 23-6 victory over Garfield. It was a non-conference encounter for both teams as the Knights got revenge for an opening day 20-0 loss suffered at the hands of the Boilermakers a year ago. | ||||||||
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| Durso, the first-ever Knight to earn a starting berth as a freshman, posted a strong effort in his sophomore debut, toting the pigskin 11 times as he churned out 88 yards rushing, finishing with a five-yard blast into the end zone in the fourth quarter that iced the "W" for the Knights. | ||||||||
| West Essex will look to make it two straight when the Knights entertain Weequahic on Saturday afternoon at Travis Field. It will be the first game of the Hills Division competition in the Iron Hills Conference and predicated upon the opening dominance of a good Garfield team, the Knights should be in position to challenge for the title. The kickoff is set for 1:30 PM. | ||||||||
| The Indians dropped a non-conference 35-20 decision to Bayonne at Untermann Field in Newark on Saturday following a 2-8 season in 2000. Weequahic could not get its offense in gear against the Bees who finished 8-2 in 2000 but took advantage of turnovers, scoring three times. | ||||||||
| Antwan Johnson scooped up a fumble and dashed 80-yards to the end zone in the opening quarter. Rafik Barron picked up a loose pigskin in the second quarter and returned it 30-yards into the end zone to keep the Indians in contention through the halftime intermission when they trailed 21-14. In the third quarter, Robert Gundy stung the Bees from Hudson County when he picked off an interception and raced 45-yards to a touchdown. | ||||||||
| "Our game plan against Weequahic will concentrate on maintaining ball control," offered Drozjock. "Our scouts saw how they can break open big plays on turnovers so we want to limit our mistakes and eliminate those opportunities." |
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18 seniors look to propel Knights back to winning track |
| Last year provided an unusual ending for a West Essex gridiron campaign
as the Knights finished with a 4-6 record. It was the first non-winning season for Wessex since 1988 and the 18
seniors on the 2001 squad are determined to end their careers beginning a new winning streak. Head coach Dave Drozjock will look to his senior tri-captains, Nick Angelo, Joseph Cifelli and Alan Squatrito to provide the leadership between the sidelines. West Essex opens the 2001 season hosting Garfield at Travis Field on Saturday, September 8 with the kickoff set for 1:30 PM. The Boilermakers, a Group III team that competes in the Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League, are coming off a 6-3 season under head coach Steve Mucha. The following weekend, West Essex begins its quest for the Hills Division title in the Iron Hills Conference when the Indians of Weequahic invade the North Caldwell campus. Weequahic finished the 2001 season with a 2-8 mark and open a week earlier against non-conference foe Bayonne. |
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Head Coach Dave Drozjock with his student managers |
Tri-Captains Nick Angelo (2), Alan Squatrito (73), Joseph Cifelli (63) with head coach Dave Drozjock |
West Essex cheerleading captains Angela Di Piazza and Stephanie Moussab |
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2001 West Essex Seniors |
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Quarterbacks with assistant coach Bob Lenoy - Josh Haba (16), Thomas Cordasco (11), Anthony Angelo (7), Frank Cerza (12) |
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2001 West Essex Knights Freshmen Football |
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